Red Ash
by JackFlame
Summary: Ash is about to start his journey when he hears a voice in his head claiming to be Red, The Legendary Champion that defeated the league at the age of ten. This is a retelling of Ash's journey through Kanto. Except this time he is fifteen years old and he has Red to guide him. There will be action, blood, adventure, and Pokeshipping. First time shipping so bear with me.
1. Chapter 1

**Red and Blaine**

A kid, no older than fifteen, was running through Viridian Forest being chased by a group of men. He had no idea who they were or what they wanted with the wounded Pokemon in his arms, but he knew that the answer to both questions couldn't be good.

"Greed use Headbutt at half power! We don't want to deal with a dead kid." One of the men yelled. A Raticate that had gained on the kid suddenly jumped forward, a purple glow coming from the middle of it's head. The kid anticipated the attack and jumped to the side, enough to not take the full blow. The kid hit the ground hard and rolled to to lessen the impact. He tried to get but found that his his entire left leg was numb.

'It may not have killed me, but it would have put me in a hospital for a good while!' The kid thought as his mind created an image of him taking the attack full force. He shuddered at the thought and reached for a Pokeball at his hip. He knew that with his leg the way it was now he wouldn't be able to run away. So he sent out his Venusaur to try and hold off his attackers long enough for him to recover.

His venusaur, named Charles, while being a great deal stronger couldn't handle the sheer number of attackers. Seeing that Charles wasn't going to last much longer, he returned him to his Pokeball.

"Finally giving up kid?" One of his attackers asked when he didn't attempt to run away.

"I can't feel my leg and I've no intention of losing any of my Pokemon" The kid said looking down at the Pokemon in his arms.

"You gave us a lot of trouble kid, but you seem smart. Hand over the Pokemon you're holding and we'll leave." The same attacker said, he seemed to be the leader so the kid memorized his face.

The kid stared at the Pokemon in his arms for a long while. He didn't want to let these men have the Pokemon, but he couldn't protect it any longer. The most he could do now was get the crap beaten out of him until he lost consciousness. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He said to the Pokemon. It looked up at him and smiled and nodded it's head. The kid hadn't expected this and it hit him hard. He started to cry as he looked back at the leader of the group. "Alright."

The leader said nothing and approached the boy. Once he was in front of him he held out his hands for the Pokemon. The kid place it in the leaders arms and looked him in the eye. Asking him how he could do this.

The leader held the kids gaze a moment before looking away in what the kid guessed was shame. "Alright boys. Let's go." Just then the leaders phone rung. He paused a moment before answering. "Boss?" He said unsure as to why his boss was calling him. "Yes sir we have the Pokemon right now." He said answering his boss's question. The man's eyes grew wide and he looked at the boy. "W-what about children, sir?" He asked. The man's eyes grew even larger for a moment before returning to their normal size. "Yes sir." He hung up his phone and handed the Pokemon in his arms to one of his men. He walked up to the and put a knee to the ground so he was looking the boy in the eyes.

"No witnesses." He said simply. Knowing the boy would understand. The boys eyes widened and he started looking around in a moment of panic. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I promise that your Pokemon will be taken someplace safe." The man said already feeling the guilt of what he was about to do. The kid was still panicking but he was smart enough to know that he couldn't escape and trying would only make his situation worse. Sometimes he amazed himself. Here he was, a man was about to kill him, and he knew that it could be worse.

"There isn't anything you can do?" The kid asked, knowing the answer already.

"There isn't." The man said. He stood and took a step away from the kid. "What's your name?" He asked.

"... I'm Red. Red Sky Dragon." Red said. "You?"

"I'm Blaine." Blaine took a gun from his belt. Aimed it at Red and looked him in the eyes.

Blaine pulled the trigger. And not for one moment looking away from Red's eyes. Red watched as Blaine pulled the trigger. he felt something and his vision turned white.

**Ash Allen Ketchum**

"Ash. Sweetie it's time to wake up." Delia yelled up to her son who tended to sleep through his alarm. She heard a noise but doubted he was actually up. "Today's the day Ash." She said. A minute passed before she heard her son fall off his bed and scramble to get his clothes on. Minutes later he came running down the stairs.

"What time is it? Am I late?" Ash asked worried that he'd slept through the day again.

"It's alright. I woke you up early so you would have time to eat breakfast." Delia told him. She put a plate of sandwiches down on the table among other plates full of food there. Ash calmed down and sat down at the table and reached for a sandwich. He stopped halfway through reaching for it because he realized that his bladder was nigh on exploding. He quickly stood up and ran for the bathroom as best he could with a full bladder. Delia laughed and set out one more plate before taking a seat and serving herself.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you right now?" Delia asked.

"I'm sure. I'll be back in the evening." Ash smiled and hugged his mom. "Thank you." He said. Delia was on the verge of tears but she held them back, knowing full well that she would need them for tomorrow.

"You are so very welcome Ash." She hugged him tightly and after a moment Ash pulled away and left to earn his starter Pokemon.

The walk to Professor Oaks Research Laboratory was an hour walk which Ash made in half an hour. Being too excited to walk slowly. He approached the door and nervously knocked.

"Just a moment." Someone said from the other side. Ash calmed down a bit hearing the old voice. The door opened to reveal Professor Oak. "Ah, Ash. Come in." Oak said stepping aside for Ash to enter. Ash did and waited for Oak to lead him to the testing room.

"This way." Oak said knowing the boy would want to start as soon as possible. Oak lead Ash into one of the side rooms from the main lab. Inside the room Ash spotted his two potential rivals. Gary Green Oak. And Markus Crow Order. All the boys exchanged grins and smiles.

"Took ya long enough Ashy." Gary said in his usual though playful manner.

"Any longer and we would have become old men." Markus said adding a little teasing of his own.

"Hey, I got here on time for once." Ash replied. He stepped back out into the hall and checked the grandfather clock just to make sure. He Smiled and went back in. "Yeah, on time."

"Heheh. Don't worry about it Ash, I got here only ten minutes ago." Markus said. Gary just smiled and turned his attention to his Grandfather.

"Ash take a seat please." Oak asked him as he placed a folder on the small table that each boy was seated at. "Each folder contains four papers. They are double sided. You must answer at least 80% of the questions correctly. Do that and you will have the minimum knowledge required to handle a Pokemon. Once done put them back into the folder and hand it to me. Then go wait in the backyard until I call for you." Oak told them. He took a seat in front of them and started on some work of his own.

After an hour. Markus was the first to finish. He handed his folder to Oak and left after wishing Gary and Ash luck. Half an hour later Gary finished and did the same as Markus. Shortly after that, Ash finished his papers. Although he felt that somehow he hadn't answered the last question correctly. He was too tired to think any more on it so he put the papers back in the folder and handed it to Oak.

"I'll be outside then sir." He said hopping from one foot to the other. He hadn't sat that still for that long before and it made him agitated.

"Alright. I'll be finished with these in a couple of minutes." Oak told him as he left.

Outside Ash in Professor Oak's backyard, which was 50 acres of undeveloped land, not including the lake and small forest. Ash saw Gary and Markus immediately a little ways away next to a pond playing with a group of Poliwag.

"Guys!" Ash yelled as he ran over to them. They waved at him and waited until he was sitting next to them to start talking.

"So how do you guys think we did?" Gary asked. "I know we all passed, but what do you think our scores are?" Markus answered right away.

"knowing you Gary, you probably got a perfect score. I think I managed to get into the 90's and I think Ash here got just below that." Ash gave him a look.

"Noway. I totally aced it too." Ash said not sure that he actually aced it, but at least got into the 90's too.

"I think we all got a hundred." Gary said. He picked up his Favorite Poliwag from the group and placed him on his lap and started petting him. "Now that we've settled that. What kind of trainer are you guys planning to be? I'm planning on getting water and ghost types."

"I'm going to focus on fire, ground and fighting types." Markus said jabbing at the air when he said fighting types.

"I'm not going to focus on one or two types. I'm going to be the first General Master!" Ash told them.

"General Master?" They both asked not having heard the term before.

"I made it up myself. It's a master of not any single type or types. But of them all." Ash said.

"That would be something to see." Gary said imagining a trainer surrounded by every type of Pokemon.

"Sounds awesome. Can't wait to see it." Markus said. They continued to talk about what they were going to do once they left Pallet Town. Their conversation was cut short however by Professor Oak calling them back to the building.

"Gary you get to choose first." Oak said as he let his grandson walk past him. "Markus you will be next. And then you Ash. Please wait here until I call for you." Oak followed Gary inside and left Ash and Markus to discuss which Pokemon Gary would pick and which one they would pick.

"I think he'll go for Bulbasaur." Ash said thinking back to what Gary said about wanting to train water and ghost type Pokmeon.

"Really? I was thinking squirtle." Markus said thinking along the same lines as Ash, just in a different direction. "Well so long as he doesn't take Charmander I'm happy."

"I'll be happy with any of them." the door opened and Gary stepped out with a huge smile on his face.

"Markus your turn." Oak said holding the door open for the boy.

"So which one did you pick?!" Ash asked excitedly. Gary smiled at him.

"It's a secret until you get your Pokemon and we meet on the road." He said.

"Oooh. That's a nice idea but now I'm even more curious. Ah! What about Markus?" Ash asked realizing that Markus would figure out which Pokemon Gary had chosen just from which one was missing.

"Sadly we can't do much about that. So the surprise will only be for you." Gary said. Ash was even more excited now and couldn't wait to get his starter. Markus walked out and Oak looked at Ash.

"Ready Ash?" He asked. Ash nodded and walked past him. Oak closed the door behind him and lead Ash to his lab. Ash was practically jumping he was so excited, but before he could take his Pokemon Prof. Oak turned to him.

"Before I give you your starter. I wanted to know if you had any questions." He asked. Ash made a noise but quickly stopped himself from whining.

"Actually yes Professor." Ash said thinking about it for a moment. "What is my score on the test?"

"of course. You scored 99% Ash." Oak told him.

"Really?! That's awesome! Wait... That means I missed one question. Right?"

"Unfortunately."

"It was the last question right? I felt that it wasn't right but I was too tired to think about it."

"... If you want you can re-answer the question if you like. Don't worry," Oak said catching the look in Ash's eyes. "If you get it right you get 100% and if you don't you still pass." Oak said handing Ash's folder to him. He looked at the folder and seemed to be struggling with himself.

"Are you sure this is alright?"

"Absolutely."

"Alright." Ash took the final page out and set it on a desk. "Do you have a pencil? Thanks." Ash erased his answer on the last question and stared at it. It didn't take Ash long to decide on his new answer and he felt much better with it. He handed the page to Oak who read the last answer.

"Ash... It's blank." Oak said looking at Ash for an explanation.

"I felt that was the right answer."

"... I'm surprised. Ash, you got 100%." Ash's mouth fell into a gape. "Good job Ash. Now let's get you your starter." Ash nodded and followed after Oak.

"Bulbasaur and Charmander have been chosen already, I'm sure you know who picked which one." Oak said. Ash nodded. "So that leaves you with Squirtle." Oak pressed a button on a Pokeball transfer machine and waited.

"That's weird." Oak said as he pressed the button again. Nothing happened. Oak moved over to a screen and with a few quick commands he pulled up a registry for all Pokemon he had on site. He found that the squirtle, that he had pet there himself, was gone. "Oh no. No no no." Oak ran to the nearest video phone and dialed the police.

"Hello this is the Pallet Town Sheriff's Office. Officer Pete speaking." Officer Pete answered.

"Pete I need you to come down right away." Oak said in a panicky tone.

"Whoa, I'll get there as fast a possible. But can you calm down and tell me a bit more?" Pete asked calmly. Oak took a breath and continued.

"One of the starters has been stolen."

"... Oh... I'll be there shortly." Pete then hung up. Professor Oak sat down in his wheely chair and stared blankly at a wall for a moment. Then his gaze shifted to Ash and Oak remembered what was going on earlier before he discovered that a Pokemon had been stolen from his own lab.

"Ash... You can kinda understand what's going on right now right?" Oak asked. Ash nodded. He look really disappointed.

"Someone stole a Pokemon... How could somebody do that?"

"I don't know." Oak sighed. "The Pokemon that was stolen was the last starter." Oak said.

"... What's going to happen now?"

"Pete's going to get here. He's going to ask a statement from each of you. Then we're probably going to watch the security feed. You will probably be sent home after he asks you a few questions." Oak stood up and walked over to Ash. "I'm sorry Ash. You won't be able to start your Journey for a couple more months."

Ash felt sick. He couldn't barely stand the thought of someone doing such a thing. So for someone to have done it made him feel terrible. Oak got Gary and Markus from outside and after they had been told everything Sheriff Pete arrived and from there everything went pretty much as Oak had said.

* * *

Ash waved to Pete who had been kind enough to give him a ride. He turned around and walked inside his house and was immediately swept up by his mother in a hug.

"Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry. Professor Oak called and told me everything. I can't believe this actually happened." Delia said trying to comfort her son. Ash was limp in her arms a moment before wrapping his arms around her and hugging her back. Ash told her that he felt like going to bed early today and went up stairs after saying goodnight.


	2. Events

Reading the reviews and thinking about how my story kinda just drops you in. I thought it would be best to write about events that happened during Red's time to help you understand what's happening now and what may happen.

* * *

First off: Ash and Red were born exactly a year apart. What this has to do with anything is that there is an age limit to when you can become a trainer. Which at the time was ten years of age. So Red started his journey one year before Ash.

Second: It took Red 364 to complete the league. Beat the Elite Four, and defeat the Champion. The reason this is important is because that was the day that the entire Kanto region suffered a shutdown of all Goverment and League run functions. The shutdown was over the next day. The League announced shortly after that, that all it's operations were to be shutdown for the following year as they revised the rules for Trainers and challengers of the League. So Ash, at the age of ten, was not allowed to become a trainer.

Team Rocket: Throughout his journey. Red had, while not destroying them completely, put a huge hole in their plans and stopped them from progressing for years to come. However, this put a target on Red and they kept track of his movements and whatever he did. And when he challenged the League, Team Rocket found it to be a great opportunity to attack and try and reclaim all they had lost. This is the cause of the shutdown. Nobody except for the Elite Four, the Champion, a referee that was there to judge each match, and Red are the only ones that know what happened that day. After failing to take over the League, Team Rocket disappeared for several years. The first real sighting of any Team Rocket members after that day is four years later when Red finds a wounded Pokemon and becomes pursued by them. Red did not recognize them because of different uniforms as well as motto and members.

Third: After a year of being gone the League returned with a new set of rules.

1# The new age limit for becoming a trainer and challenging the League is fifteen.

2# All matches must be observed by a third party or will be deemed unofficial and a crime. (It proved difficult to keep an eye on all trainers so the League came up with adding a feature to each Pokedex that allowed matches to be recorded. This way all matches of trainer vs. trainer were official and if any trainer met a criminal the correct authorities would be alerted at once.)

3# The limit of Pokemon allowed to be carried at any time by a trainer is determined by the number of badges that trainer has earned from Pokemon Gyms. The maximum being twelve.

4# The number of pokemon allowed to be used during any battle is to be determined by both trainers before hand. A full Battle is still a max of six Pokemon however. (A new term "Max Battle" is introduced at a later date for trainers that wish to do a twelve vs. twelve battle.)

5# Challenging the League now requires that you defeat each member of the Elite Four in a best 2 out of 3 battle. Because doing each battle one after another can wear on the trainers mind easily, the battles are fought over the course of a week.

6# All trainers currently under the age of fifteen are not allowed to challenge any Gyms or the League. (After four years this rule wasn't required anymore and was removed.)

These rules were passed on to each other region with a list of events that caused the Kanto League to revise them. Most regions took to these rules immediately while others took some time as well as events that were very similar to the ones the Kanto League described to change.

Fourth: All soon to be trainers and all trainers under the age limit, with nothing to do, spent the next several years learning more about Pokemon. Increasing their general knowledge about the creatures they traveled with. Because of this, the quality of all battles was greatly increased due to trainers having a better understanding of how Pokemon can move and what their powers can do. As well as more rational thinking due to being older.

* * *

So there is all that for background. There may be things in here the mess with the first chapter. That is because the first chapter started as an idea I liked. And then when I wrote it all I really liked it and thought I would post it. Because of reviews and the fact that I just dropped you into things I felt I should provide some background. I'm going to go look through the first chapter and make sure that everything fits with the new image I have in my mind. After that I will continue with chapter two.

Aside from the second chapter which I plan to finish within the next week. I don't know when you can expect updates. It's been quite a while since I last watched the anime, which this is for the most part taking after. So I will have to do research and figure out the order of events and how I want them to take place and even if I want them in there.


	3. Chapter 2

**pikachu**

Ash woke up early. He felt groggy and generally terrible. He didn't bother changing from his sleep wear and went down stairs to try and drown out his sorrow with milk and cookies.

"First the League shutdown five years ago. Kinda glad that happened actually, I was nowhere near ready. Then just yesterday." Ash stopped halfway down the steps and looked up. "It's really starting to feel like you don't want me to become a trainer." He said to whatever legendary Pokemon was listening. He heard a click at the bottom of the steps and looked down to see his mother start up the stairs only to stop when she saw him.

"Oh, you're up early Ash." She said. She didn't seem to notice the lifeless look on his face. "Good news Ash. We're going to professor Oak's Lab." Ash stood there a moment as what his mother had just told him sunk in. He suddenly bolted past her and out the front door.

"Oh dear. He forgot to change." Delia said as she just noticed that he was still wearing his sleepwear. "I suppose I'll go and get that stuff ready for him then. He'll probably want to leave right away." She heaved a sigh and started slowly up the stairs. "It's going to be quiet for a while."

* * *

Ash ran up the final steps to the door and knocked.

"Just a moment!" he heard Oak say from the other side. "Ah, Ash. Please, this way." Oak said pushing Ash towards the main lab room. "A Pokemon was delivered just last night. A friend of mine was informed of what happened and donated a Pokemon." Oak typed a few commands into a console and a Pokeball appeared from one of the many machines. "I haven't even had the time to find out what Pokemon is inside because of the incident yesterday. So this is going to be a surprise for both of us." He handed the ball to Ash.

"... This is really my Starter?" Ash said not quite believing it.

"Not yet. I still need to program your Pokedex." Oak said tapping the Pokeball with his knuckles. Ash stared at the Pokeball for a moment. He gulped and pressed the release button.

A red beam was released from the ball that made contact with the ground and changed it's shape. A small creature, about 1 and a half feet tall, appeared. It was yellow all over except for it's tail, the tips of it's ears and two stripes across it's back. A black line wound it's way from the base of the small creatures tail all the way to the tip. The tips of it's ears were black. And the stripes across it's back were a shade of brown.

"..." The Pokemon took a look at it's surroundings and seeing no threat relaxed it's posture and gave a yawn. "Chaaaaaaa..."

"... Is... Is that a Pikachu?" Ash said confused.

"Something wrong Ash?"

"I've just never seen a Pikachu this small before." Pikachu heard Ash's comment about his size and glared up at him. "I've also never seen one with black on their tail before." He continued as he looked Pikachu over.

"It would seem that this one is a tad smaller than most, then again he could still be a child. Not a full adult. The black on his tail is probably a birthmark of some sort though." Oak said returning to his computer. "Just a moment and I'll have your Pokedex."

Ash realized from the way Pikachu was glaring at him that he had said something he shouldn't have. He crouched down and stuck out his hand for Pikachu to grab.

"Sorry if I said anything to offend you." He smiled. Pikachu scrutinized Ash's hand for a moment. He smiled back at Ash and grabbed his hand. They shook for a moment before Pikachu's smile turned evil and he shot some electricity through his arm into Ash.

Ash yelled and fell back. For a moment everything was silent, then Ash let out a little cough followed by a bit of smoke.

"Ash! Are you alright?!" Oak said kneeling down next to him.

"... I think so." Ash said after a moment. He then proceeded to make sure he could move and feel all of his body. He could feel everything as far as he knew and to his surprise felt little to no pain. "I think Pikachu didn't mean to really hurt me. Just surprise me or something."

"Pika." Pikachu said in a tone that suggested Ash was right and that they would be idiots for thinking he would try to actually harm them.

"I think I'm starting to see why he sent Pikachu on such short notice." Oak said. He helped Ash up and set him on a stool and got him a glass of water before continuing with his Pokedex. "Tell me if you feel anything out of place or something like that. I'll be done with your Pokedex in just a few more minutes." Ash mumbled an "Okay." And sipped his water. Pikachu, having got back at Ash for calling him "Small" decided to have a look around. He found nothing of interest to him so he tried to leave.

"Ah, Pikachu, would you mind staying here. The Professor will be done soon and we can leave." Ash said. Pikachu looked slightly displeased but listened to him.

Pikachu sat down in the middle of the room and pouted. Ash almost laughed but stopped himself.

"Alright, sorry for the wait Ash. I would have had it ready sooner but this all happened so suddenly." Professor Oak handed Ash his Pokedex.

Ash was speechless for several moments just staring at the amazing device in his hands. "I'm finally..." He whispered. Oak barely heard him.

"I'm sorry?" He asked.

"I'm finally a TRAINER!" Ash shouted and he started to jump up and down. "Yeah! Awesome!"

Oak was surprised at first but after a moment he just smiled at him.

Ash continued to move excitedly until he remembered something. He stopped and looked at Pikachu who returned his stare. "... Pikachu... Have you eaten yet?" He asked just as his stomach started growling. Oak almost fell over as he felt that Ash was about to have a somewhat dramatic moment with Pikachu while Pikachu just shook his head. "We better get going then." Ash said goodbye to Oak and ran towards the door. He stopped in front of it and looked down at Pikachu who had followed him.

"Shouldn't you be in here?" He asked holding up Pikachu's Pokeball.

"Pika." He said glaring at the ball. To Ash Pikachu's tone suggested that he did not want to be in it.

Ash shrugged. "Alright... Oh..." He said as he realized he was still in his sleepwear. "That's embarrassing." He opened the door and ran home. Occasionally checking to make sure Pikachu was still with him.

* * *

"I'm back!" Ash called out as he opened his front door. Delia's head appeared from the doorway that lead to the kitchen.

"Oh hi honey. I got you a change of clothes ready up in your bathroom. Go take a shower and change. Breakfast will be ready once your done." She said. Then she saw Pikachu and beamed. She put whatever it was she was holding down and made her way over to him. "Aren't you just the cutest." She said picking him up. Pikachu seemed irritated at first but after she started scratching him under the chin he started to purr in her arms.

"Does he not like it in his Pokeball?" She asked because she hadn't seen Ash release Pikachu.

"I don't think so. He ran all the way here with me." He told her. He then ran up stairs and into his bathroom.

"While he's doing that why don't we get you a snack?" Delia said walking back to the kitchen.

"Chaaa." Pikachu contentedly sighed.

* * *

Ash stood in the doorway facing his mother about to say goodbye and start his journey. The outfit his mother had prepared for him was something she had been working on herself for just this day. He wore brown boots that were made for hiking and walking through dangerous terrain. They were solid and they fit like the socks he was wearing underneath them did, perfectly. He had grey cargo pants on which were made in such a way that they could be turned into shorts easily in case of hot weather. For a shirt Delia had ordered the official League long sleeved shirt that she had tailored to fit his form. Over that he would wear a grey overcoat if it was colder. He had a pair of black and blue fingerless gloves that went up to the last knuckle. He, of course, had another set of everything in his backpack as well as swimming trunks and winter wear. And to top it all off his mother had prepared a hat for him.

"This is awesome. I can't wait till it get's cold enough to wear the overcoat." He said looking himself up and down for the twentieth time since he put the outfit on.

"But it's not quite finished." Delia said. Ash looked up and she took that moment to put his new hat on his head. He quickly took it off and looked at it.

"IS THIS?!" Ash's mouth fell open and he gaped at his mother. "How did you find one of these?!" He asked.

"I got lucky. I wanted to have it ready for you five years ago but it was almost like they didn't exist. Anyone that had one wasn't going to let it go. Then just recently I found this." She told him.

Ash stared at his new hat. It was an official Pokemon League addition hat. But what made this one really special is that it's from the Deluxe set. While the normal one had red, white and green for colors. This one had black, copper and gold colors. He slowly put it back on his head.

"Mom... Thank you." He said. He suddenly hugged her tightly. She smiled at him and returned the hug. He stepped back after a moment and they looked into each other's eyes.

"I'll be back next year."

"Good luck and be safe."

And with that Ash turned around and left.

* * *

Earlier that day Delia had contacted Gary's and Markus's parents and informed them that Ash would be able to join them when they took their first steps on their journey.

"Ash! Ash over here!" Markus called waving Ash over. "I almost can't believe you got a starter!" He said thumping Ash on the back. "Is this him?" He asked leaning down to look at Pikachu. Pikachu glared at him.

"So you got an electric starter then. Interesting." Gary said observing the Pokemon.

"Cool right?! Although he kinda has an attitude." Ash said. They all laughed except for Pikachu who continued glaring at them all.

"Why isn't he in his Pokeball?" Gary asked.

"He doesn't like it in there."

"I see." They all paused for a moment, allowing a silence to take over.

"Well, shall we take our first steps then?" Markus said. They nodded in agreement and made a line next to a sign that said "Welcome to Pallet Town." On one side and on the other "Leaving Pallet Town."

They looked each other in the eyes and nodded. And with a single breath they all crossed an invisible line.


	4. Chapter 3

**Spearow**

After several hours of walking together the trio of friends arrived at a four way split. Each path had the same destination, Viridian City, but they all varied in length and number of Pokemon that can be found.

Gary got out his map and laid it flat on the ground. "I think I'll take this path." He said pointing to the farthest left path. "It's fairly quick and stops by a small river where I can catch a Water-Type." Markus and Ash nodded.

"I'll take this one." Markus said pointing to the farthest right path. "I don't plan on staying in Viridian long and this one passes the Pokemon Center along the outskirts. That way I can restock and be on my way before long. By the way, what is today?"

"It's Saturday." Gary answered.

Markus did some quick calculations in his head and snapped his fingers. "I should be in Viridian Forest by Tuesday then." He said nodding. After they had made their plans they turned to Ash. He seemed to be deep in thought so they refrained from bothering him for the moment.

"I'm going to take this one." He said pointing to the second most left path. When he didn't say anything further Gary prompted him.

"... Why that one Ashy?"

"Because if I remember correctly, you can find Pidgey and Spearow that way." Both Gary and Markus turned their gaze at Pikachu.

"Clever Ash, clever." Markus said.

"That's not a bad idea Ash. I suppose that gives me even more reason to take my path then." Gary added. Ash turned at Gary and gaped at him.

"Aw! Now I now for sure which Pokemon you picked!" Ash said accusingly. "You were supposed to keep it secret until we battled!"

Gary put his hands up in mock surrender. "Come on Ash, you could have easily figured out which one I took. And besides, that was just something I said because of the excitement."

Ash glared at him a moment longer before sighing in defeat. They all laughed after that and Gary put his map away.

"We better get a move on then. I'll be waiting for you guys in Pewter City." Markus said with a grin. Ash and Gary replied with grins of their own.

They all started forward at the same time but a thought that flashed across Gary's mind made him stop. Which also got Ash's and Markus's attention.

"... Why don't we make this more interesting. Until we get our first Badge from the Pewter City Gym, we can only catch one Pokemon per route." He proposed. Markus was immediately swept up with the idea. But Ash saw something in Gary's eyes that made him ask.

"Interesting idea. But why?"

Gary's face turned sad for a moment before he looked his friends in the eyes.

"Remember that time a few years back when I was lucky enough to be around for a Gym Battle in Saffron City?" He started. Ash and Markus nodded. "Well, while the battle was amazing; I noticed that the challenger really only used three of his Pokemon. See, I think he sent out his first three just to wear down his opponents Pokemon. And while he did give them commands. It looked like they weren't very familiar with each other. At the time I thought it was just because he was under intense pressure at the start. But the memory stayed with me and as I learned more about Pokemon I realized that he had probably just caught those first three he sent out or had at least not trained with them at all." Gary took a breath and bore his stare into his friends eyes.

"He used those first three Pokemon as sandbags for Sabrina's Pokemon!" He yelled. He panted for breath, his statement taking more out of him than he had intended. He realized that Ash and Markus were staring at him with wide eyes.

"I-I'm sorry. I just don't think someone who doesn't even take the time to learn about his Pokemon should be a trainer." He said.

"So you want us to have a chance to get to know our Pokemon or something like that through this game huh?" Markus said smiling broadly. "Don't say another word! I understand completely! And it's a fantastic idea. Now let's see, that only let's us have... Four Pokemon for the Gym Battle." He said counting on his fingers.

"Four?" Gary said.

"Your not excluding Viridian Forest now are you? It may not be a route but it's also not a route." Markus replied. Then he thought over what he just said. "I mean, it may not be a route but that doesn't exclude it from this. I mean technically because it isn't a route we could catch as many Pokemon as we wanted there." He explained. This made Gary and Ash burst out laughing.

"He thought more about it then you did." Ash said.

"He has a point though. Okay, how about this. You can only catch one Pokemon per area where Pokemon reside. Namely the routes and the Forest. But if you find a wild Pokemon in a city then it's fair game." Gary said amending his rules. They all nodded.

"Sounds good to me!"

"Me too!"

"Let's be on our way then. See you guys at Pewter City."

With that they took their separate paths.

* * *

***Note at bottom of page***

"Alright." Ash said on the lookout for a Flying-Type Pokemon. "Pikachu if you see a Pidgey or a Spearow tell me immediately!" Ash waited for a reply of some kind. But when he received nothing he turned around to find Pikachu sunbathing in the midday sun on a flat stone sticking out of the ground.

"Hey Pikachu, whatcha doing?" Ash asked wondering why the little yellow mouse was, for the most part, ignoring him.

"Pikachu~" Came his relaxed reply this time.

"... Do you just not recognize me as your trainer?" Ash asked.

"Chu~" Pikachu nodded.

Ash sat down next to Pikachu's stone and thought for a while.

"Okay. What if I managed to capture a another Pokemon without your help? Would you at least consider recognizing me as your trainer?" He said with a somewhat pleading look on his face.

Pikachu glanced at Ash and made a show of thinking it over before finally nodding his head.

"Pika."

Ash fist pumped and stood up.

"ALRIGHT! You just wait there. I'll be back with a new member of our team!" Ash ran off into the fields around them in search of a Pokemon that he might be able to catch using his own strength. Pikachu laughed and laid back down to soak more sun rays up.

"...Chu!" Pikachu's ear twitched.

"... Pika... Ru... Get up!" Pikachu had fallen asleep and was being woken up by Ash's voice which appeared to be shouting. Pikachu rubbed his eyes and tried to focus on Ash. He noticed that the sun just starting to set. Meaning his trainer had been gone for at least a few hours.

"... PIKACHU RUN! COME ON BUDDY GET UP!" Ash's voice was suddenly a lot louder. Just enough so that Pikchu was fully woken up by it. He focused on where his trainers voice was coming from only to be met with Ash's arm. Ash Picked Pikachu up none too gently and Pikachu was about to zap him for it when Ash asked him to look behind him.

Pikachu was just going to zap him when a noise caught his ears. He recognized the sound as a pair of wings. A lot of them. Pikachu slowly turned his head to look over Ash's shoulder.

_Ten minutes earlier._

"Slowly... Quietly... Wait for it... And... NOW!" Ash said to himself as he acted out his plan. He leaped up behind an unsuspecting Spearow with a Pokeaball in hand. He had spent the last half an hour coming up with this plan and he was quite sure it was going to work. Lucky for Ash however, his plan did not get a chance. Instead, the surprised Spearow; in a moment of panic, Slammed into Ash's forehead and fell unconscious from the impact. Ash was thrown onto his back but was otherwise unharmed.

He stared at the downed Spearow and felt a bit of sorrow for his plan, which now that he thought about it; wasn't going to work. He tapped the Pokeball he had against the Spearows head and watched as it turned into a red mist like substance and vanished into the ball. Ash smiled wide once the ball stopped shaking and beeped, signifying that the capture was successful.

"How's that? I managed just find on my own." He said walking back towards the stone he had left Pikachu on.

Off in the distance just out of sight, several red eyes appeared in the shadows. And they were focused intently on Ash.

_Current time._

Pikachu's sight was met with almost a solid wall of Spearow that was slowly gaining on the two of them.

"Are you sure you want to zap me right now?" Ash said calmly thanks to all the adrenaline rushing through his body. The image of Gary's map appeared in his mind. 'If I can just make it to that waterfall I should be outside of their territory and they should stop following us... Should.' Ash thought as he ran. He felt Pikachu tap his shoulder and without looking he knew that the Murder of Spearow was getting too close for comfort. The thought alone was enough to get Ash to run faster.

"Pikachu can you somehow zap them without hurting me?" Ash asked. He heard a noise that sounded like a no come from the small Pokemon now clinging to his shoulder for life.

"I'll take that as a no. Come on, come on! Where is that fall?!" He said starting to feel tired. He continued running, and when he started to slow down Pikachu would start to panic and the Ash's protective instinct that he inherited from his mother would start to kick in and he would up his speed again. He would stay ahead of the flock of Spearow for a while before he slowed again. Then the entire proccess repeated. Ash kept this up for a good half hour before he heard something that he had been wishing to hear since he started running. He heard the waterfall.

With new hope he pushed his tired feet towards the sound. The sound grew quickly and before he knew it he had ran over the edge of the cliff towards the water below.

At the relief of seeing the waterfall almost all functions of his body shut off except for the ones holding his new Spearow's Pokeball and Pikachu to himself. He was vaguely aware as his body made contact with the water and he was carried down stream by the flow.

* * *

It was a fantastic Monday morning and one Misty Waterflower had a good feeling about the spot she had chosen for fishing. The sun was just starting to shine and she could see activity under the water. She did a few quick stretches and put together her fishing rod. With a few test swings she brought it all the way back and with her best form, she let it fly as far as it could. She then took a seat and waited. Unmoving.

It wasn't even five minutes after she seated herself when her bauble was pulled under the water and her pole was almost yanked from her hands. She grunted as she fixed her grip and pulled back.

"Tough guy are ya?" She said with a big grin making it's way along her face.

"Lucky for us that I do this a lot... Then... Huh?!" She grunted again as she ajusted her stance and started pulling with her legs and back along with her arms. She finally made a bit of progress and let up just the tiniest so she could regain some of her force, then she put all her weight into bringing whatever it was she had hooked closer. It continued like this for a good minute before she felt that whatever she had hooked was close enough to haul out of the water. She suddenly let all of her muscles go lax for a moment except for her grip and immediately after that surprise she put all of her weight into lifting her prize out of the water.

It landed with a heavy thump that sounded nothing like any of the other Pokemon she had pulled out of the water before. A weird sensation started in the pit of her stomach. Then she heard coughing and the sensation made itself known as dread. She looked at her catch and her face went white.

She had pulled one Ash Ketchum out of the water and onto land. He was shivering and gasping for breath. Misty also noticed something yellow clutched tightly to his chest. After a moment she regained her senses and rushed over to Ash to make sure he was alright.

"... He's breathing at least." She said not sure what to do. She slowly removed the yellow thing from his grasp and discovered it to be a Pikachu. She didn't notice immediately that he was also breathing and she started to panic until his tiny chest rose softly. Misty sighed in relief and laid him down slowly.

"Pi-Pikachu?" The voice she heard was weak and quiet and it made her jump when she first heard it. She looked over at Ash.

"Hey, hey are you alright?" She asked. He responded to her voice by groggily opening his eyes and looking around. When his eyes finally focused on her she heard him whisper.

"Pikachu... Where's Pikachu?"

She moved backwards a bit because she had put the Pokemon on her other side. Ash spotted his little friend and nearly fainted when he saw that Pikachu was only barely breathing.

"Pikachu." Ash said tears coming to his eyes. He suddenly looked into Misty's eyes. She was surprised at the fierceness she saw in them.

"How close is the Pokemon Center?" He asked as calmly as he could.

"It's about an hour away by bike." She smiled at him. "Lucky for you I have a bike." She slowly picked Pikachu up and placed him softly in her bikes front basket.

"... Doesn't he have a Pokeball?" She asked turning aroud to find Ash standing right behind he. "AH!" She yelled.

"he doesn't like it in there." Ash said slowly.

"... But wouldn't he be safer in there?" She asked getting up.

"... I don't know if it matters at the moment. But if anything gets any more serious I'll put him in there." Ash said.

Misty got on her bike.

"Look, you look really worn out, just go rest and I'll take Pikachu here to the Pokemon center. I promise I'll be back okay?" She said trying to be as persuasive as she could. Ash shook his head and climbed onto the back of the bike.

"I need some medical attention too." He said wrapping his arms limply around misty's waist.

Misty hesitated for a moment before kicking off and pedaling as fast as she dared with the injured boy and Pokemon riding with her. Before long it began to rain lightly.

* * *

Over the last hour the light rain had become something akin to a storm while still being somewhat calm. Lightning would flash every other minute while the wind holwed past their ears.

"Almost there. Just a few more minutes." Misty said pedaling as hard as she could through the muddy ground.

Ash suddenly turned his head to look back. He knew he had heard something, he just didn't want to believe it. He kept his stare turned back and waited. Lightning struck, It happened quickly but it gave Ash just enough time to see them.

"They followed me." He said, his mouth hanging open agape. Misty heard Ash.

"Who followed you?" She asked sounding worried.

"They followed me?" Ash said wondering why they would follow him this far outside of their territory. As his mind raced and the Murder of Spearow drew closer; Misty suddenly stopped pedling. Ash turned to her.

"What's wrong?" He asked worry clear in his voice.

"It's stuck!" She said. Dread filled them as they heard the Spearow drawing closer. Misty turned around to find out who was following Ash.

"... Are those... Oh no..." She turned to Ash. "What did you do?!" She asked. The Spearow were coming at him full force. There was no way anyone could have counted how many Spearow filled the sky at that moment. But Ash guessed it was well over a hundred.

"I don't know." Ash told her. he picked Pikachu up, causing him to wake up somewhat, and handed him to Misty along with his Pokeball. "Take him to the Pokemon Center. I'll be along shortly after." He said turning to face the Murder of Spearow.

Misty couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Are... Are you sacrificing yourself?" She asked. As soon as the words left her mouth Ash burst into laughter.

"Sacrificing? Hehehe, that's the best you can come up with? Sacrificing?" he smiled widely at her. "I have no intention of dying. So don't worry about that." He said. He then shoved he somewhat away from himself. "Now get going. Oh and Pikachu," Ash said glancing towards the yellow mouse. "Be okay." And with that he turned and stood his ground against the oncoming hoard of Spearow. Misty didn't know what to think anymore so she just listened to the last thing Ash had told her to do. She turned around, away from Ash and the Murder of Spearow, and ran for the Pokemon Center.

Ash's mind was racing for someway to survive. Someway to appease the Spearow in front of him so they would leave him alone. Then he began to wonder why they were after him. As he thought of this he pulled out his Pokedex and Opened it.

"Hello Ash. My name is Dexter. Is there something you wish to know?" Dexter said in a robotic tone.

"Tell me what you know about Spearow."

"Spearow are Flying/Normal-Type Pokemon that have a history of being aggressive, prideful and territorial. Despite their aggressive and prideful nature they are also very loyal to those that have proven themselves." Dexter started. However everything after that was blocked out for the most part as it all began to register in Ash's mind. The Spearow he had caught which had lead to being chased by an entire Murder of Spearow. He had accidentally captured their leader and they were not happy about it one little bit.

Ash looked up and saw that the Spearow had encircled him and were waiting for him to move. He reached for the Pokeball of the Spearow he had caught.

"This is becuase I captured your Leader right?" Ash said aloud so they could all hear him.

"I apologize! I didn't mean to capture your leader! I will release him and you can all go back home." Ash was about to hit the release button when one of the hundreds of Spearow tackled the ball out of his hand.

"Why?!" He shouted at them starting to panic. Then Dexter's words came back to him "_Aggressive, **p****rideful **__and _territorial."

"Prideful." He said sinking to his knees. This wasn't about capturing there leader anymore. It was about the blow he did to their pride by capturing their leader and then escaping them.

"Ha... Hahaha... HAHAHAAHAHAHAHAA!"Ash started laughing. "You know. I kinda wanted a girlfriend too."

What happened next was the most impossible thing Ash had ever seen.

He heard Pikachu's voice from outside the circle of Spearow. he then saw something that resembled a thunderbolt blow a whole in the dome they had made around him. He watched as Pikachu jumped into the whole into the swarm of Spearow and onto Misty's bike.

Pikachu's actions set of all the Spearow and they attacked with the intent to kill. The sound they made was so intesne you would have to hold your ears from the pain. However, Ash heard none of it. His attention fully on the yellow mouse Pokemon in front of him. He heard a voice in the back of his head. Louder and louder it rang until it was almost painful. Then he saw Pikachu turn and look him in the eyes. And he knew what he had to do.

"PIKACHU!" Ash shouted at the top of his lungs, he repeated what the voice in his head was telling him to say. "USE THUNDER!"

Pikachu grinned widely and nodded. He looked skywards and seemed to call the heavens down as he used his attack. There was a deafening explosion and a blinding light. All Ash could remember after that was seeing the image of a boy about his age wearing a red cap with a Pikachu riding his shoulder. The image smiled and nodded at him and then vanished. after that Ash lost conscious.

* * *

"Hey, hey come on. Wake up. Please wake up." Ash heard a voice calling him.

"Mmm I don't want to get up yet." He replied lazily. He tried to turn over but was met with a burning pain in his side and he sat bolt upright clutching his side trying not to scream.

"Oh thank Acreus that your awake. I wasn't sure if you had gone into a coma or what." Ash turned around to find misty standing behind him.

"..." It took Ash a moment to realize that he didn't know if Pikachu was okay. "Where's Pikachu?!" He said trying to stand. Misty put her hands on his shoulders and prevented him fom standing.

"Woah, calm down. Pikachu is okay. He's just sleeping right now. It would seem that the lightning bolt that hit Pikachu actually did some good to him."

"Pikachu was hit by a lightning bolt?" Ash said trying to remember what happened.

"You don't remember? Well you were in the middle of it. Well, I'll tell you later. Just before you woke up I contacted Officer Jenny in Viridian and asked for a lift." Misty started walking off. "Where we are is a little out of the way so I'm going to go stand by the main road and direct her this way when she arrives. You rest until then okay? You are in no condition to move."

Ash nodded and fell over, unable to keep himself upright. He noticed that Pikachu was actually laying right next to him. He smiled and looked towards the sky.

"Hey. A rainbow. Better wake up and make a wish before it leaves." Ash said in an attempt to wake Pikachu up. And to his surprise, it worked.

"Cha~" Pikachu yawned and looked at the rainbow that had appeared after the storm almost directly over them.

"Heheh. Make a wish buddy." Ash said as he stared at the rainbow and made a wish himself.

Just as he finished the wish in his head he heard a sound that reminded him of bells. Shortly after the noise, a bird flew over the rainbow. It wasn't a Pokemon he had seen before. It was golden and it looked like a rainbow was flowing out from it. Ash looked over at pikachu and smiled.

"Maybe your wish really will come true."

* * *

***Note* This part takes place about a day after Gary, Ash and Markus split up. *Note end***

**And now for the Legendary Authors Note. Capital L for the extra legend.**

**Just wanted to say that I'm glad you guys are enjoying this so far. I am too.  
I also wanted to make clear that this is going to be my first attempt at romance. And that I'm not sure how I will go about it.**

**Aside from that. I plan to write another chapter of this before continuing my other story "Pokemon Galaxy" for a few chapters.**

**Do note that this is a plan and it probably won't go over well and I will end up writing several more chapters of this before even starting on the next chapter of that.  
We'll see how it goes.**

***Update* I can't believe I messed that up. When I first introduced Misty I said it was a fantastic "Sunday" morning. It was supposed to say Monday. I blame it on the fact that I was working on this chapter late into... the morning? I don't know. It was definitly past my bedtime though.**


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